Colons: When to Use a Colon in a Sentence | English Writing and Punctuation Essentials

Aug 24, 2023

Colons: When to Use a Colon in a Sentence | English Writing and Punctuation Essentials

An in-depth guide on how to use colons and colon rules for writing in English. I will teach you how to use colons, explain each of these rules in detail, and show you many different examples. We will go over using colons to introduce lists, how to use a colon before quotation marks, using colons for emphasis, to separate independent clauses and more.

At the end of the lesson, we will have a detailed practice session so you can test what you’ve learned! Come learn all about colon usage with Sparkle English!

Video Chapters:
0:47 - Introduction to Colons
1:32 - Use a colon to introduce an item or list
3:26 - Use colons to provide further clarification in a sentence
4:37 - Use colons to show emphasis
5:34 - Use colons to separate independent clauses
7:14 - Use a colon before a quote when the quote is introduced by a complete sentence
8:47 - In a presentation, we use colons to introduce a bulleted or numbered list
9:19 - Practice using colons!

Check out my other videos on punctuation and capitalization below:
► Quotation Marks Rules -    • Quotation Mark Rules | How To Use Quo…
► Apostrophe Rules -    • Apostrophe Rules | How to Use Apostro…
► Capitalization Rules -    • Capitalization Rules - When to Use Up…
► 8 Comma Rules -    • 8 Comma Rules | How to Use Commas | E…

#esl #learnenglish #colonrules #punctuation #sparkleenglish

Content

0.63 -> Hello everyone, welcome back to my channel, Sparkle English,

3.96 -> where I teach you how to improve your level of English. This is a

8.31 -> new video on colon rules and how to use colons in sentences. This

14.19 -> is the fifth video in my English writing essentials videos. So if

18.45 -> you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to Sparkle English,

22.14 -> and you can check out my other videos in this series on how to

26.07 -> use commas quotation marks apostrophes, how to capitalize,

31.53 -> and other different videos I have that are essential to

34.95 -> helping you become a better English speaker and writer. So

38.91 -> let's get started.

41.22 -> In this lesson, you will learn how to use colons correctly when

45.09 -> writing in English. So this here is a colon.

51.33 -> And this is a semicolon.

54.69 -> I will discuss semicolons in my next video, but today we're

58.23 -> going to focus on colons. colons have many different uses. They

64.5 -> can be used to introduce a quotation, an example a series

70.23 -> or an explanation.

72.84 -> They can also be used to separate two independent

76.47 -> clauses.

78.66 -> And finally, a colon can be used to show emphasis. So we're going

83.76 -> to go through each of these sections one by one, and also

88.08 -> have some practice for you at the end of this video.

92.46 -> So the first rule is use a colon to introduce an item or list if

97.83 -> the list comes after a complete sentence. For example, we need

103.14 -> many things for the party: cups, napkins, ice and balloons. You

109.44 -> can see here we have placed a colon after party. I want you to

114.3 -> view the colon almost like an arrow. Because it's pointing to

118.86 -> the things that we need for the party, we can almost use the

122.88 -> colon, it almost means which is or which are the following.

131.76 -> So when we use a colon to introduce an item or list, it's

136.71 -> almost like saying we need many things for the party, which are

141.9 -> cups, napkins, ice and balloons. But rather than writing which is

147.42 -> or which are, we just have to place a colon.

152.13 -> The next example. Last year, I visited many countries: Spain,

157.68 -> Italy, Portugal and France. Again, we're using a colon. And

163.2 -> again, it's like saying which are last year I visited many

168.12 -> countries, which are Spain, Italy, Portugal and France. The

173.07 -> colon connects these two clauses. This first is an

177.06 -> independent clause. And this here is a dependent clause. And

181.89 -> we can use the colon to connect the two to make one full

185.61 -> sentence.

188.16 -> She has had three boyfriends: Kyle, George and Aaron. Again,

194.16 -> we're using the colon and it's like an arrow pointing to the

197.91 -> boyfriends that she just spoke about in the first sentence.

202.92 -> Okay.

206.82 -> We can also use colons to provide further clarification in

211.05 -> a sentence. For example, we have two options: eat at home or go

217.14 -> to a restaurant. We use the colon here, because we're

222.06 -> providing further clarification. In the sentence, we have first

226.68 -> stated that there's two options. And now we use the colon which

230.58 -> is again like an arrow, and like saying, which are, eat at home

237.9 -> or go to a restaurant. These are the two options we have. The

242.31 -> next example, I'm not sure what to do: quit my job or stay for

247.02 -> another year. Again, we're using a colon to connect these two

251.01 -> clauses.

253.32 -> Because if you just put a period after do, I'm not sure what to

257.4 -> do, period, quit my job or stay for another year. It's

261.39 -> separating these two statements that should be connected.

266.49 -> Because quit my job or stay for another year is directly

270.36 -> connected to this independent clause here. I'm not sure what

274.68 -> to do.

277.35 -> We can also use colons to show emphasis example. She was always

283.2 -> there for one person: her mother. We want to emphasize who

288.66 -> she was always there for. So we have to put a colon. We have a

293.49 -> full sentence, a full independent clause here. She was

297.06 -> always there for one person and then we use the

300 -> colon to emphasize that the mother is who we're talking

303.57 -> about. If this sentence was, she was always there for her mother,

309.45 -> you wouldn't need a colon. But here they're trying to emphasize

313.02 -> that her mother was the person that she was there for. I

316.41 -> finally met my lifelong hero: Nicolas Cage. We have one goal:

322.56 -> win this tournament.

324.9 -> Again, we're using the colon to provide emphasis. And again

329.28 -> connecting these two sentences, which are directly related.

334.23 -> We can also use colons to separate independent clauses. A

338.97 -> colon can be used to separate two independent clauses when the

343.62 -> second clause is directly related to the first clause. And

348.45 -> when the emphasis is on the second clause.

352.62 -> In other words, we use a colon to join two independent clauses.

357.6 -> When the second clause is a definition, explanation, or

362.13 -> summary of the first, you can also use a semi colon or a

366.63 -> period between two independent clauses that are related. So if

371.85 -> you look here, here are some examples. The results were in:

377.55 -> Madonna had won the Grammy. Both of these are two independent

382.08 -> clauses. These are two sentences that work by themselves, the

385.89 -> results were in. Madonna had won the Grammy, you could put a

389.7 -> period here, or you could just put a semi colon. But because

394.68 -> this second independent clause is directly related to this

398.97 -> first independent clause, it's better to use a colon.

403.38 -> Because this all works together as one sentence, these are the

408.39 -> results that they're talking about in this first sentence.

412.56 -> Another example, the judge made her decision: we lost the case.

418.35 -> Again, these two sentences are directly related. And the

422.7 -> emphasis is on the second independent clause, we lost the

427.89 -> case. Again, it's directly related to the first sentence,

432.12 -> so we use a colon.

435.6 -> You can also use a colon before quote when the quote is

439.47 -> introduced by a complete sentence. So let's look at some

443.52 -> examples. In the first example, we're just going to use a comma.

447.81 -> Jack said, comma, let's go to the cinema. Here, we're going to

452.46 -> use a comma because this is just two words, the whole sentence,

457.62 -> Jack said. You need to connect that with a comma because it

462.54 -> doesn't work by itself. It's not a complete independent clause,

466.44 -> Jack said. You have to say what Jack said. So we just use a

470.7 -> comma here. Jack said, "Let's go to the cinema."

475.65 -> But in the second one, it's a complete sentence. Jack had one

479.25 -> rule: "We will not watch a horror movie." So in this case,

485.52 -> we would use a colon because this is a complete sentence. She

490.23 -> advised, "Bring a jacket tomorrow." Again, we can use a

494.97 -> comma here and not a colon because she advised does not

499.05 -> work all by itself. It works with bring a jacket tomorrow

503.4 -> because that is the advice. She offered the following advice:

507.63 -> "Bring an umbrella because it's going to rain tomorrow." Again,

512.46 -> here we'd use a colon because this is a complete sentence. You

516.54 -> could also use a comma. But in this case, a colon also works

521.13 -> because this is a complete sentence that is introducing the

524.76 -> quote.

526.74 -> We also use colons to introduce a bulleted or numbered list. So

531.42 -> if you were doing a PowerPoint presentation or creating a flyer

535.5 -> or pamphlet, you would use colons to introduce this list.

540.24 -> This is also common if you're using colons on your website for

543.33 -> example. In today's lesson, we will practice: grammar,

548.43 -> punctuation, spelling, writing. Campers need to bring: backpack,

554.7 -> jacket, water bottle, hiking boots.

558.45 -> Okay, so now we're going to do some practice and see what you

561.51 -> have learned from this lesson. Which of these sentences require

565.77 -> colons?

567.66 -> So some of them do not require colons. So I want to see if you

571.62 -> can tell the difference of when we need to use colons and when

575.25 -> we don't.

577.25 -> I recommend you take a piece of paper and try to see if you can

581.24 -> write down which sentences you think need colons and which ones

585.98 -> you don't. And then see how many you get right out of seven. We

590.96 -> have seven. So let's see how many you can get right out of

593.63 -> seven. The results were in: we had a new president. There are

598.34 -> three countries in North America:

600.44 -> Canada, the United States and Mexico. The three countries in

604.88 -> North America are Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

609.86 -> After university, I want to travel to Australia, New

613.43 -> Zealand, and China.

615.89 -> I will travel to three places after university, Australia, New

620.87 -> Zealand, and China.

623.93 -> I'll never forget his last words: "You can do anything you

628.07 -> put your mind to."

630.56 -> I couldn't decide what to do: stay with him or break up with

634.61 -> him and start over.

637.61 -> Okay, so pause this video if you want to think about it before

640.97 -> you hear the answers.

643.58 -> So let's get started with the first one. The results were in:

648.14 -> we had a new president. Here, we're going to put a colon after

652.67 -> in. The results were in: we had a new president. We're doing

657.47 -> this because we're separating two independent clauses that are

661.79 -> directly related.

664.26 -> We're putting the emphasis on we had a new president, because

668.16 -> those are the results of the election or of the campaign.

673.65 -> There are three countries in North America. Now we're going

677.07 -> to put a colon afterwards, because we are introducing a

680.94 -> list. Canada, the United States and Mexico. Now the third

685.92 -> sentence is what might get people to be a bit confused.

690.66 -> This says the three countries in North America are Canada, the

695.34 -> United States and Mexico. Some people might think that you have

699.81 -> to put a colon here. But this is incorrect. We do not need to put

705.78 -> a colon here, because we have the word are and this verb to be

711.42 -> are connects this sentence. You don't need a colon or semi colon

716.28 -> or anything. Because the full sentence is the three countries

721.29 -> in North America are Canada, the United States and Mexico.

726.15 -> Whereas in the second sentence here, there is no word

729.51 -> connecting these two parts. So we have to use a colon, because

733.32 -> this sentence here is introducing the list.

738.87 -> The next one, after university, I want to travel to Australia,

744.24 -> New Zealand and China.

747.48 -> Again, you might be tempted to put a colon here after to. But

753.45 -> that would be incorrect. You do not need and you cannot use a

757.05 -> colon there because you have the word to. So this sentence was

761.25 -> correct on its own. After university, I want to travel to

765.6 -> Australia, New Zealand and China.

769.41 -> I'm going to erase these, so it's not going to be confusing

773.1 -> for you. Both of these sentences are correct as they are.

779.19 -> What about this next one, I will travel to three places after

783.51 -> university. Here we put a colon,

786.81 -> Australia, New Zealand and China. Again, remember that this

791.49 -> colon here works like an arrow pointing and saying which are

797.16 -> the following. So I will travel to three places after

800.61 -> university, which are the following Australia, New Zealand

804.9 -> and China. This colon connects these two clauses.

811.83 -> I'll never forget his last words: "You can do anything you

815.73 -> put your mind to." Here we're going to put a colon after

819.96 -> words, because we have a full sentence that introduces the

824.85 -> quote.

827.25 -> And the last one, I couldn't decide what to do: stay with him

831.66 -> or break up with him and start over.

835.02 -> Here we're going to put a colon after do. I couldn't decide what

839.76 -> to do: stay with him or break up with him and start over.

845.82 -> Because this second part is connected directly connected to

849.75 -> this first independent clause, and it's giving more information

854.16 -> about this first sentence emphasizing these two options,

858.93 -> stay with him or break up with him and start over.

863.25 -> Okay,

864.87 -> so I want to see how many you got out of seven. There should

870.03 -> be five

872.46 -> colons that we use.

875.19 -> And if you already knew that these two here were correct,

878.73 -> then you would get seven out of seven correct. Okay.

884.46 -> So thank you very much for watching this video. I hope this

887.4 -> made sense to you. I know, col ns can be a little difficult.

891.48 -> ut the more you practice, the m re you will become used to us

894.87 -> ng colons. You often see colons in more formal writing or in nov

899.82 -> ls

900 -> essays or articles that you read online. In casual writing to

905.52 -> your friends and family, and things like that we don't

908.31 -> typically use colons. In my next video, I will teach you how t

912.93 -> use semi colons and we wil compare a little bit th

916.02 -> difference between colons an semi colons. Thank you onc

919.38 -> again for watching. I encourag you to practice in the commen

923.91 -> s section and try to write yo r own sentences using colons. A

927.9 -> d if you haven't already, ma e sure to subscribe to Spark

930.99 -> e English for more videos on h w to improve your level of Engli

935.01 -> h so you can become a bett r English speaker, write

938.79 -> , listener, and reader. Than s again for watching and I'll s

942.48 -> e you in my next tutoria

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p40K494L7VQ